As we enter the holiday season, we’re passing along some details about a new bill in the works from our friends at Environmental Advocates NY(EANY).
Rob and Dharma at EANY are working on legislation for the upcoming session that would require testing for dozens of contaminants, including all PFAS- the forever chemical that you may recall Seneca Lake Guardian had independently tested for and found in all samples around Seneca Lake – in two scenarios : 1) as a condition of sale for homes served by a private well, and 2) every five years by landlords leasing property served by a private well. The legislation is called the Private Wells Testing Act and, if passed, will bring critical water protections to nearly 4 million New Yorkers serve by private wells.
This bill will also be advocated alongside a budget ask of $20 million dollars to ensure that no homeowner bears the burden of testing or installing any treatment technology if necessary.
Rob and Dharma are looking for private well owners that would be interested in sharing their experiences with drinking water as private well owners with legislators during the upcoming session. If you are interested in taking part and/or learning more about what advocacy could entail, please reach out to Dharma at dsantos-santiago@eany.org or 513-490-7063.